Midtown Manhattan watering holes, typically home to quiet business lunches, got a jolt this month as the World Cup kicked off, drawing suited professionals and colourfully dressed tourists alike for afternoon matches and beers. Bars strung international flags and lured passers-by with drink specials while crowds inside erupted in sporadic cheers.

Brazil’s inaugural match against Croatia kicked off the time that comes every four years when Americans tune in to global affairs to place their bets on which country will emerge victorious from the soccer – sorry, football – tournament.

The competition is a welcome event for sports fans in the summer as hockey and basketball seasons wind down and before baseball truly heats up. The South American time zone is not a problem for viewers in the States, with games taking place between lunchtime and the evening commutes.

For now, US interest in football may be more about patriotism than the sport itself; Americans rarely shy away from an opportunity to beat the drum for their country and the World Cup is an added bonus beyond the Olympics.

What’s clear is that there are two types of football fan in the US. There is the big group who support the national team in the World Cup, and a much smaller group who devoutly follow a local team in an eight-month season.

Major League Soccer has existed only since 1996. It’s an American take on The Beautiful Game – while British teams often revel in downbeat names that reek of muddy fields and warm pies, the US teams have names that represent the relentless upbeat nature of US sport, such as the New York Red Bulls and the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Despite the Americanisation of the game, it’s unlikely soccer will elbow aside traditional US sports such as baseball or the version of football where the players in helmets pick the ball up.

The average New Yorker would struggle to explain the offside rule. “No, there’s not a shot clock in soccer,” one US banker was overheard explaining to his colleague during the Netherlands versus Spain World Cup game, referring to the limited amount of time basketball players have to score.

However, interest in matches played on foreign soil appears to be rising and seems to have a greater upward trajectory in the near term than home-grown games. American network NBC paid $250 million in 2012 for rights to broadcast English Premier League matches for three years and has broadcast matches on affiliates that usually show reality TV.

It’s a far cry from 20 years ago. One senior British banking executive recalls that in those days there were no British games broadcast and expats had to huddle in groups around transistor radios listening to scratchy commentary.

Today, bars throughout the five boroughs regularly show international matches, a simple, but significant step forward. To cater to a swelling crowd of devotees, some restaurants open their doors early on weekend mornings to show matches and host a mix of expats and Americans nursing drinks ranging from Bloody Marys to coffee and Guinness.

It’s the Americans at these bars who have drawn the ire of commentators (often British) who were born and raised on “proper” football. Wall Street Journal sportswriter (and expatriate Brit) Jonathan Clegg recently railed against so-called “soccer obsessives” in America who treat their fandom as an “elaborate affectation” using terms like “kit” and “match”, English terms alien to the average American.

But many members of this group of football obsessives will be found later in the year waving foam fingers in Yankee stadium or unfolding lawn chairs outside MetLife Stadium five hours before a Jets football game. They are not being over the top about soccer specifically; they are just typical American sports fans who happen to now be cheering about soccer.

For all their intermittent interest in the game, the Americans at least bring plenty of enthusiasm.

There was a telling difference between the coverage of the English and American teams as they headed towards Rio. Neither, frankly, has much chance of lifting the trophy. But while the English were being relentlessly downbeat and making jokes about the team’s legendary inability to win penalty shoot-outs, it’s perhaps telling that America’s chant heading into the tournament was “I believe that we will win”.

-- Sarah Krouse supports Arsenal

This article was first published in the print edition of Financial News dated June 23, 2014